# Rocket Knight > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rocket_Knight > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rocket_Knight.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Knight > Source revision: 1319405266 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2010 video game 2010 video game Rocket Knight Xbox Live Arcade cover art Developer Climax Studios Publisher Konami Producer Tomm Hulett Designer Phil Mansell Programmer Ben Potton Artist Richard Turner Series Rocket Knight Platforms Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Release Windows, Xbox 360 WW: May 12, 2010[1] PlayStation 3 JP/PAL: May 12, 2010 NA: May 18, 2010 Genres Platform, scrolling shooter Mode Single-player ***Rocket Knight*** is a 2010 [platform](/source/Platform_game) [video game](/source/Video_game) developed by [Climax Studios](/source/Climax_Studios) and published by [Konami](/source/Konami) for the [Xbox 360](/source/Xbox_360) (via [Xbox Live Arcade](/source/Xbox_Live_Arcade)), [PlayStation 3](/source/PlayStation_3) (via [PlayStation Network](/source/PlayStation_Network)), and [Microsoft Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows). It is a revival of the *Rocket Knight*/*Sparkster* series, which first began with *[Rocket Knight Adventures](/source/Rocket_Knight_Adventures)* (1993). The game acts as a sequel to the [Sega Genesis](/source/Sega_Genesis) game *[Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2](/source/Sparkster%3A_Rocket_Knight_Adventures_2)* (1994).[2] ## Gameplay Like its precursors, *Rocket Knight* is a side-scrolling [platform game](/source/Platform_game) where the player guides Sparkster through linear levels to defeat the end level boss or reach the goal. Sparkster can jump and attack using his sword and rocket pack. Similar to *[Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2](/source/Sparkster%3A_Rocket_Knight_Adventures_2)*, Sparkster uses a melee attack with his sword and auto-generates power with his rocket pack. Unlike previous games, Sparkster can no longer perform consecutive boosts, but can now briefly hover in the air and shoot range projectiles, in addition to being able to defend himself from projectiles using attacks. There are other tweaks, such as Sparkster only bouncing off walls when he hits them at a 45 degree angle.[3] The game consists of fourteen levels, divided across four worlds. Like previous games, there are side-scrolling shooting segments. In the shooting segments, Sparkster can now charge his shots and use his rocket pack to avoid obstacles. Several items and power-ups can be found spread across the levels. Upon completion of a level, the game is saved, allowing to continue at a later time. The respective level is also unlocked in the Free Play mode, where the player can replay the levels. If the player loses all their lives, they can use a limited number of continues to resume play at the last stage where all lives were lost, otherwise the game will end and save progress will be erased, though Free Play stages will remain unlocked. If the game is completed, the player will unlock a skin of Axel Gear for use in the game. If certain criteria is met while finishing the game on the Hard difficulty, the Gold Sparkster skin is unlocked; which halves the maximum health, increasing the difficulty. ## Plot Following Sparkster's triumph over the [Gedol Empire](/source/Sparkster%3A_Rocket_Knight_Adventures_2), the Rocket Knight returns to the Kingdom of Zephyrus. In his surprise, he finds out that the pigs of the Devontidos Empire that [he previously fought](/source/Rocket_Knight_Adventures) have taken up residence in the kingdom alongside the opossum inhabitants during his recent quest, under permission granted by the king of Zephyrus. General Sweinhart, a war veteran from the previous war between the kingdoms and current leader of the Devontidos Empire had made a truce with the king of Zephyrus. Despite Sparkster's warning claims, the king ignores his pleads and allows the pigs to stay in the kingdom; with the kingdom in peace and the Rocket Knight no longer needed by the king, Sparkster leaves the kingdom and retires. Fifteen years later, Sparkster lives a casual farming life with his wife and son. While farming one day, he witnesses Zephyrus become subject to the invasion of an army of mountain wolves. Sparkster equips his Rocket Knight gear and departs from his home to save Zephyrus. Upon arriving at the kingdom, Sparkster encounters his arch-nemesis Axel Gear, who had been acting as Rocket Knight in his absence. After destroying a forest shredder, Sparkster is captured under the robot's metallic face, where Axel Gear takes credit for his victory against the enemy. General Sweinhart announces his declaration of war against the wolves to the pigs and opossums, receiving praise from the townspeople. Suspecting something may be amiss, Sparkster decides to head towards the Wolf Kingdom, where he faces and defeats the wolves' leader, Ulfgar. Shortly after Ulfgar's defeat, Sweinhart and Axel arrive and knock out the king and Sparkster, throwing the latter to a deep pit. Sweinhart breaks the truce and turns the pigs against the opossums once again. Sparkster awakens in the cave and makes his escape, defeating Axel once more. Sparkster makes his way back to Zephyrus. where Sweinhart confronts and attacks Sparkster using his giant pig robot, the latter emerging victorious at the end. Sparkster is praised by the townspeople and reunites with Princess Sherry in celebration over his triumph against the Devontidos Empire. With his job done, Sparkster flies back home to his family. ## Development and release This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (July 2014) When producer Tomm Hulett joined Konami, he decided to work on a pitch for a revival for *Sparkster*, which was accepted after two years and four pitches. Hulett claims that "it was really a matter of reworking the concept – making the right pitch at the right time", with various recent franchise revivals receiving positive responses at the time. Hulett also said that Konami thought Climax Studios were the best pick partly due to their facial animation technology, allowing Sparkster to produce expressions respective to his 16-bit counterparts.[4][5] *Rocket Knight* is one of the games featured in Xbox's November 2021 Games with Gold lineup, where the game was made for free for the month for [Xbox Live Gold](/source/Xbox_network) and [Game Pass Ultimate](/source/Xbox_Game_Pass_Ultimate) subscribers.[6] ## Reception This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (July 2014) Reception Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 72/100 (X360)[7] 70/100 (PS3)[8] 63/100 (PC)[9] *[IGN](/source/IGN)* gave the game a score of 7.5, praising the inventive platforming but showing concern for the high price point.[10] *[Game Informer](/source/Game_Informer)* gave the game a score of eight out of ten.[11] *[GamesRadar](/source/GamesRadar)* gave the game 7/10,[12] praising its mechanics but criticising its fluctuating difficulty, along with the high price point. [*1Up*](/source/1up.com) gave it a C+ grade, criticising its lack of variety.[13] Sales were near to 12,000 units as of year-end 2010.[14] ## See also - *[Rocket Knight Adventures](/source/Rocket_Knight_Adventures)* - *[Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2](/source/Sparkster%3A_Rocket_Knight_Adventures_2)* - *[Sparkster](/source/Sparkster)* ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Miller, Matt. ["Rocket Knight Downloadable Game Gets A Release Date"](https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/04/27/news-rocket-knight-downloadable-game-gets-a-release-date.aspx). *Game Informer*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100504120239/http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/04/27/news-Rocket-Knight-Downloadable-Game-Gets-A-Release-Date.aspx) from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Parish, Jeremy (October 6, 2009). ["Creative Spark: Reinventing the Rocket Knight"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140201202325/http://www.1up.com/features/reinventing-rocket-knight). *[1UP.com](/source/1UP.com)*. [Ziff Davis](/source/Ziff_Davis). Archived from [the original](http://www.1up.com/features/reinventing-rocket-knight) on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014. Fifteen years have passed in-game since the last entry in the series, just as in real life, and Sparkster has grown a little in the interim. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Parish, Jeremy (October 7, 2009). ["Creative Spark: Reinventing the Rocket Knight"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110605040209/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3176372). [1UP](/source/1UP.com). Archived from [the original](http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3176372) on June 5, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Parish, Jeremy (October 5, 2009). ["Rocket Knight Preview"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110605041714/http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=0&cId=3176349&p). [1UP](/source/1UP.com). Archived from [the original](http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=0&cId=3176349&p) on June 5, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Laut, Cornelson (October 9, 2009). ["Rocket Knight Exclusive Debut Trailer HD"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110707061953/http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/26724). [1UP](/source/1UP.com). Archived from [the original](http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/26724) on July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Hryb, Larry \[@majornelson\]](/source/Larry_Hryb) (October 29, 2021). ["Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members, start the month of November off with Moving Out and Rocket Knight - yours to download and play with #GamesWithGold https://t.co/XzzUbzsdN0"](https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1454100848183701510) ([Tweet](/source/Tweet_(social_media))). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211106135605/https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1454100848183701510) from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2023 – via [Twitter](/source/Twitter). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Rocket Knight Xbox 360 Metacritic review score"](https://www.metacritic.com/game/rocket-knight/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-360). *[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190121011925/https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/rocket-knight) from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Rocket Knight PlayStation 3 Metacritic review score"](https://www.metacritic.com/game/rocket-knight/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-3). *[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190120223043/https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/rocket-knight) from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Rocket Knight PC Metacritic review score"](https://www.metacritic.com/game/rocket-knight/critic-reviews/?platform=pc). *[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200229152814/https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/rocket-knight) from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Rocket Knight Review - IGN"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100516191317/http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/108/1089231p1.html). *Uk.xboxlive.ign.com*. May 20, 2010. Archived from [the original](http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/108/1089231p1.html) on May 16, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Ryckert, Dan (May 12, 2010). ["Rocket Knight Review: Sparkster Shines In An Overdue Return"](https://www.gameinformer.com/games/rocket_knight/b/ps3/archive/2010/05/12/review.aspx). *Game Informer*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200613232637/https://www.gameinformer.com/games/rocket_knight/b/ps3/archive/2010/05/12/review.aspx) from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Meunier, Nathan (June 3, 2010). ["Rocket Knight review"](https://www.gamesradar.com/rocket-knight-review/). *gamesradar*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171009203143/http://www.gamesradar.com/rocket-knight-review/) from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Rocket Knight Review"](http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3179372). *www.1up.com*. Retrieved February 3, 2022.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-gamerbytes_2010_sales_14-0)** Langley, Ryan (January 28, 2011). ["XBLA: In-Depth: Xbox Live Arcade Sales Analysis For All Of 2010"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110201164901/http://www.gamerbytes.com/2011/01/indepth_xbox_live_arcade_sales_18.php#more). Gamerbytes. Archived from [the original](http://www.gamerbytes.com/2011/01/indepth_xbox_live_arcade_sales_18.php#more) on February 1, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2011. ## External links - [*Rocket Knight*](https://www.mobygames.com/game//rocket-knight) at [MobyGames](/source/MobyGames) - [*Rocket Knight* 5 Day Feature](http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3176338) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110605040236/http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3176338) June 5, 2011, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) at 1up.com v t e Konami video game franchises Konami Airforce Delta Bishi Bashi Bloody Roar Boktai Bomberman Bonk / PC Kid / BC Kid Castlevania Contra Deca Sports eFootball Frogger Ganbare Goemon Gradius GTI Club International Superstar Soccer Metal Gear Momotarō Densetsu Momotaro Dentetsu Nectaris Parodius Power Pros Pro Evolution Soccer / Winning Eleven Professional Baseball Spirits Puzzle Silent Hill Silent Scope Sparkster Star Soldier Suikoden Taisen Puzzle-dama Tengai Makyō Tokimeki Memorial TwinBee Vandal Hearts Yu-Gi-Oh! Zone of the Enders Bemani Beatmania (IIDX) Dance Dance Revolution GuitarFreaks and DrumMania Karaoke Revolution Jubeat Pop'n Music Reflec Beat Sound Voltex Mambo a Go Go v t e Rocket Knight / Sparkster series Games Rocket Knight Adventures (1993) Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 (Genesis; 1994) Sparkster (SNES; 1994) Rocket Knight (2010) Other Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu Snatcher Jikkyō Power Pro Wrestling '96: Max Voltage Mitsumete Knight Contra: Shattered Soldier New International Track & Field Konami Krazy Racers Picross S Konami Antiques Edition Related Sonic the Comic [Portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals): - [Video games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Video_games) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rocket Knight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Knight) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Knight?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.